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Trattoria Mollie

4 Dec

Tonight we decided to get dinner and then put up our Chrismukkah decorations. We went to Trattoria Mollie’s so that we would have plenty of energy to put together our fake tree that has made it through two cross country moves. I had a salad with a lemon dressing and shaved parmigiano. It was nice and light. I then had the Medaglioni di Melanzane alla Piastra con Speck al Profumo di Pesto.

This consisted of  grilled eggplant with mozzarella, smoked ham and pesto sauce. I then had gluten-free pasta. You heard right…. ANOTHER restaurant that offers GF pasta! Are we lucky or what?

I had the Spaghetti con Pancetta e Ricotta salata. It was GF spaghetti, smoked Italian bacon and ricotta cheese in a light tomato sauce. It was quite yummy. They use the Trader Joe’s brand rice flour pasta. To finish off the meal, they made me a small portion of their Panna Cotta.

This naturally GF dessert had a wonderful chocolate drizzle and was surrounded by a strawberry sauce. I don’t know how we got anything done after eating the amount that we did. However, after rummaging through our moving boxes, we were able to locate our tree and box of ornaments. The stockings are still MIA, but who needs stockings when you have a festivities bush like ours?

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Los Arroyos

2 Dec

We had to meet with someone on Coast Village Road today, so we went to Los Arroyos afterwards for lunch. I had the Rajas con Queso. It includes two corn tortillas with grilled pasilla chiles and onions with monterey jack and queso fresco cheese melted on top. You then have the option of a side of caesar salad or rice and beans. I topped mine with the chipotle salsa they have which is quite good. I would just be very careful describing what you can and can’t have to your waiter. Our particular waitress didn’t seem as on top of things as I would want her to be. However, I have had the dish before so I knew what I could and couldn’t have.

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Monarch Butterflies

2 Dec

I know this has nothing to do with being gluten-free or food, but if you live in Santa Barbara, I insist that you go to the Coronado Butterfly Preserve to see the Monarch Butterflies. December and January are the best times to see them. We went this morning and were treated to an unbelievable site. It is an incredibly short walk so it won’t take up a huge chunk of your day. For directions and tips on when to go, visit the Santa Barbara Hikes Site.

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Paradise Cafe

1 Dec

It is a beautiful day in Santa Barbara, so we wanted to go somewhere for lunch that we could eat outside. We ended up going to Paradise Cafe. I had the special fish tacos which had grilled swordfish, fresh cilantro and corn tortillas. On the side were some beans, pico de gallo and a pesto aioli along with rice and cabbage. These were SO good. To top it off, our waitress was great, letting me know that I could not eat any of my husband’s fries since they were fried in the same oil as the calamari.

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Lunch on State Street

1 Dec

Yesterday, we went to Natural Cafe on State Street for lunch. Pictured above is the Natural Caesar Salad without croutons. Big chunks of avocado and fresh tomatoes make this a very tasty salad. I still think that a place that focuses on natural food should be a bit more educated on what is and isn’t GF on their menu. For example, when asking about some chips they serve, the cashier had no idea what the ingredients were. If they were able to mark on their menu whether each item is GF or can be prepared GF, it would become one of my favorite lunch places. Conveniently next door, is the Good Life Market.

This small market has a nice variety of gluten-free items for purchase. If you live in the downtown area, it is the perfect place to pick up some GF pasta or snacks. I picked up the Annie’s Deluxe Cheesy Mac and Cheese.

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Houston’s

30 Nov

While we were in NJ, we ate at Houston’s since my grandparents love the veggie burgers there. I personally LOVE their fries. You just need to request them to be made without the seasoning since that is not GF. The staff there is very knowledgeable about what is and isn’t gluten-free. It is so nice to enjoy fries knowing they are in a dedicated fryer!

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Piccolo Angolo

27 Nov

Tonight, we went into NYC for dinner. Instead of going to one of the usual GF places, we went to one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Piccolo Angolo. They are incredibly GF friendly in that the owner’s son’s girlfriend has celiac. As long as you alert them, they will take good care of you. I had my favorite dish, the Gamberoni Fra’Diavolo, or shrimp with spicy tomato sauce. Their spicy tomato sauce is so darn good. It has the perfect amount of heat. The dish comes with a heaping side of vegetables.

These were prepared with olive oil and a generous amount of fresh garlic which I appreciated. As we were talking to our waitress, she was explaining that they now have gluten-free pasta available. They happened to be out of it tonight, but she said to just call ahead so that they can make sure to have some available next time we come in. I am already drooling imagining pasta with this Fra’Diavolo sauce. It is really that good.

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Quesadilla

26 Nov

I know that this blog is all about eating out, but I have to give a little credit to my Mom. Whenever I am home, she makes the deliciousness you see above. These quesadillas are always perfectly browned. I then top them with the Frontera Chipotle Salsa.

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Gluten-Free Thanksgiving

26 Nov

I had to work on actual Thanksgiving, but I really wanted the traditional turkey meal. When I got home on Friday, my mom had made me GF gravy and cornbread along with the traditional turkey,  green beans, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. It was all very tasty. Thanks mom.

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Thankful

24 Nov

The past few months have been pretty crazy, so it is nice to have a day set aside to remind you what is important in life. This year, I am especially grateful for my family who have made me feel loved from up to 5,500 miles away. I am also incredibly grateful that I have moved back to a town that has embraced the gluten-free lifestyle. Lastly, I am thankful for the people that read glutenfreeinsb. I never imagined people other than my friends and family would read this blog, so I have been blown away by the support. Have a Happy Gluten-Free Thanksgiving with those that you are thankful for.

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